What Acts 1:8 Teaches Us About Worldwide Evangelism & Missions

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

Our POWER to be a witness for Christ comes from the Holy Spirit living within us. We are WITNESSES of Jesus. This means that just like the first followers of Jesus were ready to publicly proclaim their faith in Jesus even if they needed to do so in a public trial, in the same way we are ready to talk about all that we have seen, heard and experienced about Jesus — how He lived, died, and rose again, and how He has transformed our lives.

We are His witnesses among ALL CULTURES:

Jerusalem — those with a culture just like ours

Judea — those with a culture very similar to ours

Samaria — those with a culture different than ours, with some points of similarity

the ends of the earth — those with a culture very different than ours

We are His witnesses EVERYWHERE:

Jerusalem — our local area

Judea — our region

Samaria — a region near us

the ends of the earth — all across the globe, to every people group

What a promise and a mandate we have. The Lord empowers us to be His witnesses, and He sends us to be His ambassadors to all peoples, so that people from all peoples will put their trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord. As long as there are people groups that have not heard the message of Jesus, our work is not done. My responsibility (and yours) is to be a witness to all people everywhere the Lord sends us.

And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scrolland to open its seals,because You were slaughtered,and You redeemed peoplefor God by Your bloodfrom every tribe and languageand people and nation. (Revelation 5:9)

Go out your front door. Go around the world. Everywhere you go, be a witness for Him.

Thank you Derek for this timely and so important mandate for us to be missionaries to the whole world, whether it is at our own front door or to the ends of the earth. The brevity of this article is so powerful!